The Best of Friends
by blackash
Summary: AU Takes place while Gohan is training with Piccolo in the forest for the arrival of the Saiyans when he meets a young girl who changes his life for forever. First fan fiction be gentle, no flames please! R
1. The Chase

Disclaimer:

Blackash26: Oh my god! I just bought Dragon Ball Z!

Fallen: No, you didn't.

Blackash26: Yes I did, here are the rights, and I just got them through a fax!

Fallen: No, you just copied them off some random website not worth mentioning, so stop saying that you ownitbefore the FEDs come and arrest us!

Blackash26: Oh alright! I don't own anything except Fallen and all other creatures of my own making for my own deranged purposes. (You big meanie!)

Fallen: I heard that!

Blackash26 (innocently): What?

The Chase

"Ahhhhhh!" cried Gohan as he dashed through the forest undergrowth. He narrowly missed hitting a low hanging branch, jumping out of the way only seconds before impact. He stumbled, but was up again and running, just as quickly.

He could hear the four legged beast running behind him, slowly gaining. His over imaginative mind thought it could hear the beast's stomach growling. This only spurred thought of what would happen if the beast caught him.

So he ran faster, faster than he ever had before, while thoughts of what it was like to be eaten alive played like a broken record around his head.

* * *

Piccolo watched the boy running through the jungle with worry. It occurred to him that Gohan could get hurt by that wild beast that was chasing him. The boy had the makings of a great fighter; he was just slow about realizing his capabilities. This was Gohan's problem and the reason Piccolo was worried that he might not be able to handle the beast on his own.

He considered going out to help the boy, and immediately shoved the thought away. It had already been two months since he had left the kid on his own. As far as he was concerned nothing much had changed. Oh, to be sure he was a little stronger, faster, braver, but it a little wasn't enough. And a little wasn't going to cut it when the Saiyans arrived in ten months.

Anyway, since when would he, the great Piccolo, take the time to even _think_ about helping anyone but himself? What was happening to him? He was growing soft. He groaned in disgust at himself, and flew off to the other side of the wilderness to train, and get away from the kid that somehow worming his way into once icy heart.

* * *

As he was running, Gohan remembered why he was in the forest in the first place. He felt sorrow weigh on his heart as well as guilt, for he was sure that his father's death was his fault. Gohan knew he should have been able to save him.

While he was pondering his guilt, the young demi-saiyan forgot to pay attention to where he was running and promptly fell flat on his face. The beast was on him in an instant, teeth barred.

On instinct Gohan threw up his hands to ward off the attack. He caught one of the thing's heads in his hands and tried to keep the monster's mouth firmly shut. This was something the ugly four headed creature did not like, because it was severely impairing its eating ability. As the creature began to struggle more violently, Gohan leaned back and threw the creature off himself with all his strength.

The beast flew backwards and hit a tree. It cried out in pain as it hit the tree trunk with a sickening crack, leaving an indent in the shape of the beast and a large crack down the middle of the pour tree. The monster fell to the ground and let out a cry of pain. But it was instantly back on its feet and madder than ever!

Gohan scrambled up and took off running, as fast as his pour feet could take him, with the angry beast close at his heels.

* * *

Gohan groaned, he had a cramp and it was killing him. He had long ago out run the beast. Because the undergrowth he had been running through had gotten so thick that he could barley see where he was going. So logically, neither could the beast.

He sat down in a small clearing, clutching the stitch in his side, he had no idea how long he had been running, but it felt like it could have been for hours. Gohan glanced up at the sky to see that it was still relatively early, around ten o'clock in the morning. He sighed, he was exhausted from all the running, and he had gotten up very early. Not that he didn't wake up with the sun at about five in the morning, ever morning; it was just that he had been up for a long time.

He lay down, forgetting his cramp, he let his exhaustion overtake him and sleep claimed his troubled young mind. The five year old boy's last thoughts before he fell asleep were of how he wished his dad was there with him.


	2. An Unwanted Intrusion

Disclaimer:

Blackash26: I own it all, Muahahahahahahahahaha!

Fallen: Arggg! I thought we went over this? What will it take to get it through your thick skull that you do _not_ own Dragon Ball Z!

Blackash26: Nothing, because I do!

Fallen: That's it! Admit that you own nothing, or I will sic shadow on you!

Blackash26: You wouldn't, would you?

Fallen: Hell yeah!

Shadow (Bares teeth and growls dangerously)

Blackash26 (laughs nervously): Heh, heh. Oh, fin you win! I don't own DBZ only the mad products of my own deranged imagination. (That includes you too, Fallen, you meanie!)

Fallen:…

Blackash26: Hey, Fallen, where'd you run off to? You're supposed to yell at me for calling you a meanie. (Sees Fallen and Shadow shaking hands (paws) with a group of lawyers)

Blackash26: What! You traitorous 3nd9s!

Fallen: Sorry, but I'm a junior law enforcer in the junior copyright division (holds up a badge)

Blackash26: And Shadow?

Fallen: He's a junior law enforcer in the wolf/guardian copyright division.

Blackash26: I do not even think that that is worth responding to, you traitor!. (Walks off in a huff).

An Unwanted Intrusion

Gohan awoke to a very bright ray of sunlight hitting him hard in the eyes. He was up instantly, all remnants of sleep effectively driven away by the bright light. His legs were slightly sore from all that running he had done earlier that day, but he ignored the discomfort. He had felt much worse since Piccolo had taken him to the wilderness to train.

He stood and looked up and judged that it was somewhere around four in the afternoon. Then he remembered what had happened earlier that day. He groaned, as he realized that he had no idea where he was or how to get back to the cave he had been staying in.

He was about to panic when he realized that Piccolo was out there, and that sooner or later his mentor would come and find him. Of course, he still didn't know where he was, but the thought of knowing that _someone_ would be able to find him and bring him back 'home' was very reassuring.

That cleared up the whole part about him being lost, but he still didn't know what to do till Piccolo decided to come and find him. Gohan decided that since there was very little else he could do in his current situation, that he should explore his surroundings. "Maybe," he thought to himself happily, "I could even find my own way back! Wouldn't Mr. Piccolo be proud of me for that!" With that thought in mind, Gohan began to explore his surroundings.

First he walked around the clearing trying to get his bearings. As he was climbing up a tree to get a better look at the area, his stomach rumbled loudly causing him to fall out of the tree and onto the ground. The fall didn't hurt, but his stomach sure did. While he rolled around on the ground clutching his stomach in pain, he remembered that he hadn't eaten anything since his breakfast. A breakfast, which his stomach was painfully reminding him was eaten at five o'clock in the morning, nearly eleven hours ago. His stomach was also telling him that the breakfast had been a light one as well, only consisting of some fruits.

He pushed his feelings of hunger back, and stood up. Then he took up his exploration once again, only this time instead of searching for a way back, he was searching for food, any food.

* * *

Thirty minutes later found Gohan consuming the last of his very large lunch nuts and fruit at a mass rate under the shade of a tall oak tree. He smiled as he finished off the meal and patted his stomach happily, for he was no longer starving.

He got up, stretched and then picked a random direction and started walking. After all, he had nothing better to do. He walked and walked, stopping now and again to look at some flowers or an interestingly looking tree. All in all, he felt very relaxed and actually happy. The young boy even almost forgot about what had brought him to this relaxing place. For now, he was simply glad that he could relax.

Gohan was walking along when he sensed something. Or rather he simply had a feeling, perhaps even a gut instinct. Whatever it was, he knew he wasn't alone. This knowledge confused him, because he could see no one from where he was standing. Despite his better judgment, Gohan decided to follow his feeling and see who he was sensing.

He veered off to the right from the direction he had originally been headed in. He waked slowly, carefully, and softly. Basically he was trying his hardest not to be seen or heard, so that if someone was there, and he turned out to be dangerous, he would be able to get away without getting hurt.

After walking along like this for a short while he stopped short. Gohan wasn't certain, but he was almost positive that he saw something. It was hard to tell of course, because of the thick undergrowth obscuring his view, yet he wanted to make sure.

On impulse he nimbly climbed up the nearest tree, then jumped to the next one and the next. He continued this way until he found himself in a tree bordering a medium sized clearing.

There, in the middle of the clearing, hovering a foot or so above the ground was the figure he had seen and the presence he had sensed. The figure had his back to Gohan, but Gohan knew that the stranger was young, possibly around his age.

The meditating figure had his long black hair tied in a simple braid that fell just past the stranger but. He wore a kind of clothing that Gohan had never seen before. And the young boy knew you couldn't buy it in any clothing store. It looked to be made from some kind of animal skin. It was tan in color and very simple. Just pants and a shirt, though he could only see the person's back because it was turned toward him. The stranger also had on a belt, that as far as Gohan could tell had a many pouches and oddly shaped things tied to it. All in all, Gohan was very curious as to the identity of this stranger. His curiosity was almost uncontrollable. He simply had to find out more about this strange being.

This was why Gohan found himself crawling out on one of the tree's limbs in an attempt to get a better look. The branch was long and hung out over the strangers head. Gohan kept climbing till he was just above the boy's head. As he shifted his weight to get a better look, he heard a sickening crack as the branch broke.

Gohan fell out of the sky, onto the hovering boy. This caused the boy to loose his concentration and they both hit the ground hard, in a tangled mass of human limbs.

After a couple seconds of struggling the two managed to disentangle themselves from each other and stumble to their feet. As he got to his feet, Gohan got a good look at the boy, and discovered that he was not a boy at all, but a girl and a very pissed off one at that.


	3. An Unpleasant Meeting

Disclaimer: Blackash26: I own it all!

Fallen (exasperatedly/angrily): Oh no, not this again! (Picks up a huge table made out of solid steel) Alright, here's the deal, you stop claiming things you don't own right now, or I swear to RinRan that I will kill you with this table like I did to that idiotic ambassador from the south quadrant!

Blackash26 (very scared): Yeash! Some one has anger management issues… (Fallen glares and waves table dangerously) Okay, okay! I don't own DBZ, only the products of my own deranged imagination.

Fallen (smiles and sets down table): See it wasn't that hard!

Lea: Hey Fallen, don't you have anger management classes today?

Fallen: Um… no…

Lea: Uh, huh… Okay boys! Get her!

Men in white coats, come, stick Fallen in a strait jacket and carry her kicking and screaming away.

Lea: She is such a drama queen; she is just going in for anger management therapy.

Blackash26: She is afraid of psychiatrists.

Lea: Oh…

Blackash26: Well, Fallen may have stopped me for now, but one day I will own DBZ, or at least make all of you think I do! (Cackles madly)

Lea: Boys, we got another one!

Men in white coats, come, stick Blackash26 in a strait jacket and carry her kicking and screaming away.

An Unpleasant Meeting

_Gohan fell out of the sky, onto the hovering boy. This caused the boy to loose his concentration and they both hit the ground hard, in a tangled mass of human limbs._

_After a couple seconds of struggling the two managed to disentangle themselves from each other and stumble to their feet. As he got to his feet, Gohan got a good look at the boy, and discovered that he was not a boy at all, but a girl and a very pissed off one at that._

"Wow," was all Gohan could say, "You're a girl!"

"Yeah, no duh," the girl said coldly.

"Oh… um…" Gohan began, slightly flustered by the girl's coldness

"Who the hell are you and where the hell did you come from?" She snapped sounding peeved.

Gohan was embarrassed by the whole ordeal and startled by the girl's vibrant and repetitive use of swear words, but still managed to open his mouth and get out a jumbled mush of, "Sorry…just curious, no idea…in the tree…accident…"

"You were spying on me!" The girl cried angrily, and if possible became more pissed, "Who do you work with? Did _they_ put you up to this? Or are you just some lousy no good…" this was followed by a string of what Gohan could only assume were swear words because they sounded like no language he had ever heard before. "You Bastard!" she finished her face slightly flushed from the yelling.

That was one of the few words she had said that he had recognized and he understood what it meant all too well. It was an accident, he had told her that, but she didn't care, then she went and insulted him like that, telling him he had no father. And suddenly he found that he hated this girl. Not just disliked her, but hated her with every fiber of his being.

"Well aren't you going to say anything, you little piece of worthless shit?" she spit venomously.

Gohan felt all the grief, rage, self-hatred, confusion and fear, that had been lurking in the back of his mind ever since his father had died, surface in his mind. And all those emotions turned outward, away from him and at her. It was her fault. It was her fault his father was gone, it was her fault his mother was probably dieing of heartbreak, and it was her fault that he was in this terrible place, all alone.

"Yeah, how 'bout this!" he cried, and leapt forward, catching her completely by surprise, and punched her in the face sending her flying backwards. She flew through the air and landed fifty yards away in pile of brush.

However as soon as she was down, she was up again. She was flying through the air straight at him. Her fist shot out to punch him, but he caught it. The impact was so great it caused a small sonic boom.

However neither noticed nor cared, nor did Gohan notice the fact that the skills he was exhibiting were far beyond anything Piccolo had taught him. He was far too angry to care, his hatred consumed him. All rational thought by this time had faded from his mind, and all he knew was that he had to destroy this girl no matter what, and he knew somehow that when he did he would be home with his parents, and everything would be alright.

Gohan moved to punch her, but she easily blocked it while simultaneously swinging her leg around to slam into his waist. He caught it, she glared at him and shoved him backwards. He stumbled but stood his ground.

The two launched themselves at each other and began exchanging blows, however, almost every time either attacked, the attack was blocked. This fact only severed to stoke the hatred that they felt for each other.

After a while the two were no longer fighting on the ground, they were flying through the air, exchanging blows at a mass rate. Gohan didn't even notice the fact that he was flying, something Piccolo had not yet taught him how to do, all he could think of was killing the girl.

Suddenly the girl shot a ki blast into him, the unexpected blast caught him off guard and drove him into the ground, creating a small crater in the forest floor. Gohan stumbled to his feet, angry at himself for allowing her to catch him off guard. This anger toward himself was quickly redirected back to the girl, causing his hatred for her to sky rocket even more then it already had.

He concentrated on his anger and energy, he bent his knees and began to chant, just as he had seen his father do before his death, "Ka…Me…Ha…Me…HA!". And he sent his fist Kamehameha wave straight at the object of his rage.

Of course she easily dodged it, but Gohan didn't care. He took to the air and sent a barrage of ki blasts at her. She retaliated by sending an equal amount of blast back at his own, causing all of their blasts to be neutralized.

He moved in for hand to hand combat but as he flew at her he rammed into something hard. He looked around confused, yet saw nothing there. He threw out his hand and it smacked something that wasn't there. He quickly drew back his hand rubbing it with his other hands while muttering curse words he had overheard the grown ups muttering under their breaths when they were angry or upset, for as long as he could remember.

He looked up and saw his opponent, she was sitting there, or rather floating in the air, just out of reach, all the while smirking that damnable smirk. He screamed and shot ki blasts at the wall that wasn't there. When the smoke cleared nothing had changed.

Gohan, turned and glared at the girl. She smirked back at him and said with a voice dripping in hatred, "Wow, the big talker can't even knock down a little mind wall, how pathetic."

Gohan growled, he took all his emotions, his power, spirit soul and body and threw it all at the wall with the force of all his anger behind it. The mind wall, as the girl had called it, shattered, However the boy didn't even stop to wonder how he had destroyed it, he simply attacked the girl. Then they were back at it, trading blows and blasts, lost in their fury.

* * *

Two figures watched the fight unnoticed from a hill top close by. The male watcher spoke through his mind link to the female watcher, "Who exactly is this kid? Before this fight started a two year old could have toppled him with his pinky finger, but now he's fighting on her level."

"You act like this is a miracle or something," the female responded back through the link.

"Well it is considering who she is, there are very few who an keep up with her."

"We don't know anything about the boy, there could be a great deal about him that we may never know. We are only assuming he was actually weak when this whole thing started. It is possible to hide one's power, you know."

"I suppose it is, but the question is, what is he capable of?"

"No," the female said, "the question is what are they capable of together."

"What are you saying?" the male asked curiously.

"That boy is bringing out her power like nothing has, since well, you know. And she is bringing out talents he has never shown before."

"How can you assume that this is the first time he is exhibiting these powers?"

"He may have, but is unlikely for we would have sensed it, and if not us then one of the others, or one of the enemy would have."

"True, however as interesting as this discussion may be, what will we do when their power levels become too noticeable? We will have far more trouble than we need right now, especially explaining the boy."

"Well, we can't go down their and stop them, at least not yet. We have to see how far they can push each other."

"Someone is bound to notice this, besides, if they become to powerful they could destroy this planet on accident."

"Then we'll shield their fighting area, no one outside it will be able to sense them, and it should protect the planet from any serious damage. And this way, the others will not be able to interfere…"

* * *

Gohan and the girl were still fighting hard and unrelentlessly. As they fought they had slowly increased their speed without realizing it, they were now moving so fast that the world around them seemed to be standing still, and any normal on looker wouldn't have seen anything in the clearing in which they were fighting.

Now and then the girl would throw up a mind wall, to try and slow him down. But Gohan easily broke threw each one, no matter how well put together they were. He had even tried making his own, though it was on accident. At one point in the fight the girl had knocked him down, and had then powered up a large attack at him. There had been no time to doge, and unless he did something it would kill him. So he had done the only thing he could think of; he threw his mind. His soul and all his emotions as at the oncoming blast, and sent a silent prayer to any divine being that might take mercy on him. Surprisingly it had worked, though he had not had the time to ponder about it, for as soon as he was no longer in immediate danger, the hatred and anger had returned. He had gone back to fighting with out another thought.

The battle was becoming more, and more intense. As he fought, Gohan lost sight of the world around him, only becoming aware of the object of his hatred. Somehow, though, no matter what Gohan threw at the girl, she always seemed able to throw it right back. And no matter how much power she showed, she always seemed to have more. This only spurred his need to kill her more, though he failed to notice that he too seemed to be pulling energy out of thin air.

A brutal ki blast from the girl sent him flying backwards through the air. He managed to stop himself, and found that he was a couple of miles away from the original battle sight.

He growled angrily and shot off back in the direction of the clearing, ready for anything. The girl met him half way, and they both took the moment of impact as a chance to kill the other. However they each caught the other's punch, leaving them locked in a standstill. The two fought for control, their power levels rising, their bodies shook with the pressure.

Gohan's frustration and anger peaked, and with a scream of hatred he gathered all the unending power from the invisible source that seemed to be all around him…


	4. Awakening

Disclaimer: Blackash26: Yeah, Yeah, I know the drill… (sighs sadly) I do not own DBZ, only Fallen and all other creatures of my own making for my own deranged purposes.

Awakening

_Gohan's frustration and anger peaked, and with a scream of hatred he gathered all the unending power from the invisible source that seemed to be all around him…_

…He was floating…He was floating in blissful emptiness…his mind was void of thought or emotion…all of the feelings of grief, sorrow, loneliness, frustration, anger and self-hatred that had been plaguing him seemed distant and numbed, as though they had happened a long time ago, and where now only a memory…

He felt content to float there, in the emptiness, free of the cruel world he lived in. He felt full or perhaps complete, as though a part of him that had long been missing (and had in fact been gone so long that he didn't even realize that it was missing) had finally been returned to its rightful place.

Had the boy been in his normal state, the scholar in him would have demanded to know what had been missing that he now felt so strangely complete. However the scholar in Gohan seemed to have disappeared along with all of his other thoughts and emotions.

Therefore he was quite happy to float there in the void and let the sole feeling of being complete, cradle him in its tender caring arms.

* * *

He heard a faint bird call, as though from miles and miles away. It was followed by the gentle brush of a breeze upon his face. Then came the feeling of soft grass beneath him…

And all too soon, reality began to draw Gohan, bit by bit, out of the void, leading him out of the void and into the sunshine.


	5. Forgiveness

I would like to thank all my beautiful reviewers! You guys are awesome! And I am really sorry this chapter took so long! Stupid school!

**Killer Eyes**: I'm glad you like my fic! And don't worry this chapter will be longer!

**PeaceLover**: I'm glad you like it. No, the girl isn't Videl, though I eventually hope to put her in the story.

**Kei Ikari**: Thanks!

**Fredjoe: **Sort of, they kinda get off to a rocky start, and later they try it, but it gets kind of complicated.

**MarshmellowDragon**: The two people who were watching the fight will get introduced soon…er or later. You'll meet them, but I don't know if it will be obvious that it's them. Oh, and the complete thing doesn't have anything to do with being a sayain, it's something I came up with, but I won't get into that for a while. And I'm glad you like it.

Note: Just to clarify, this fic is AU. A lot of things will be similar to the actual timeline and events, but a lot of it will be made up by yours truly. I know some of the things I come up with will be a tad out there and very far-fetched, but please just go with it.

Disclaimer: Blackash26: Yeah, Yeah, I know the drill… (Sighs sadly) I do not own DBZ, only Fallen and all other creatures of my own making for my own deranged purposes.

* * *

**_Forgiveness_**

* * *

Gohan lay awake in the soft grass with his eyes closed for a long time. He listened to the sounds of nature and waited patiently for the return of his grief, self-hatred, anger, emptiness and all of his other unpleasant emotions. To his surprise, they didn't.

He still felt content and complete. This confused him, but he enjoyed the feelings and decided that it would probably be better if he didn't question the feelings, lest they disappear.

He continued to lie there in the soft grass, and presently wondered _why_ he was lying on soft grass and not on the cold, hard floor of his cave.

Then it all came back to him, the chase, coming upon the boy who turned out to be a girl, fighting with the girl, then, well, nothing.

After they had met each other head on and tried to kill each other, he remembered nothing, nothing except that odd, but magnificent void. And that was allowing that the void was even real, and that he hadn't dreamed it up. He wasn't really sure at this point.

Surprisingly, he no longer felt anger when he thought of the girl. It occurred to him that this in itself was odd, but he also found it odd, slightly unnerving and very out of character for himself to have acted that way in the first place.

He suddenly realized that he could have seriously injured or killed her and was immediately ashamed of himself and his actions. It not only went against everything his parents had taught him, but he **hated** killing and hurting people, animals and even plant life! Not to mention that he had no idea why they were really fighting in the first place.

Then he remembered that he had no idea what had happened to her or even if she was still alive.

* * *

His eyes flew open to see a bright, cloudless sky and a golden sun high in the heavens. And after a moment it hit him that he had been out for at least a day. He wondered absently how long he had been unconscious, and continued on to wonder if Piccolo had even noticed that he had disappeared. He immediately dismissed the idea. With a sigh, he sat up and surveyed his surroundings.

The forest floor was scorched in many parts and was littered with craters of varying sizes. Whole trees had been shattered, and in some places, whole sections of the forest had been destroyed.

He felt his stomach drop, and a lump rise in his throat as he realized that he was the one responsible for this destruction. He was supposed to protect people and other living things from this type of destruction, not cause it himself! He felt sick, and had a very strong urge to retch.

He tried to stifle it, but failed. He turned his head to the side and emptied his body of the remnants of the large lunch he had consumed the day before, or at least he assumed it was the day before, in truth, he had no way of knowing.

Once he had finished, he wiped his mouth off on his tattered sleeve. Then he leaned back slightly with his hands behind him and tilted his head toward the sky. He took several deep breaths, and after he had sufficiently calmed down, decided that he should examine the full extent of the damage he had wrought.

He stood carefully, expecting soreness, pain, tight muscles and all those things one expects to feel after one has been in an apocalyptic battle such as the one Gohan and the girl had been fighting. However, as he stood, he discovered that he felt fine. Or to be more precise, he felt better than fine, he felt stronger and healthier then he had ever felt in his entire life!

Looking down at himself, Gohan was surprised to see that the only sign that he had partaken in an apocalyptic battle the day before was the tattered state of his clothing. Ignoring that, he was fine, no bruises, cuts or breaks, he wasn't even exceptionally dirty.

Although this was truly a puzzling turn of events, he decided that there was nothing to be done about it. So he simply accepted his current state of health and left it at that.

Gohan glanced around, wondering what direction he should take because he was still hopelessly lost. He was about to head in the direction of the sun, when he once again sensed the same presence he had felt on that eventful day when he had fought with the girl. Without thinking, he turned around and went the other way, blindly following wherever this strange feeling chose to take him.

This may seem like a dangerous thing to do, and it probably was considering the trouble the feeling had gotten him into the day before. However the boy felt that at this point he had nothing to loose and therefore could risk following it. He also reasoned that since he **still** had no idea where he was, it really didn't matter which way he ended up going. In truth, all of these thought were really products of self-delusion springing from the fact that he simply couldn't not follow the feeling. For whatever reason, though, he did choose to follow the feeling, and that has made all the difference.

* * *

Gohan had been walking for a while when he stumbled upon (or rather fell into) a large, yet shallow crater. He sat up where he had fallen, examined the crater and immediately felt sick again. He had caused this destruction. He sat there a while longer and wondered forlornly how many innocent creatures had he had killed without meaning to during that terrible fight.

He was looking sadly around the crater when his eyes fell upon a lone figure sitting cross-legged with its back to him on the opposite side of the crater. She, he had decided it was a she because of her long black slightly mussed hair that hung unbound around her, sat with her shoulders hunched seemingly completely oblivious to the world around her.

He wondered if she was the girl he had fought with the day before, and couldn't decide because the two appeared to be so different. The girl he had fought had had a harsh and arrogant air about her as well as giving off strong feelings of hatred cruelty. This girl however practically reeked of pain, sorrow and regret, there was no trace of harshness at all.

He got up slowly, careful not to make too much noise for fear of spooking the girl and possibly sending her running away. His fears were unfounded, though, and she didn't even acknowledge his presence as he slowly made his way across the crater. He waked around her so that he was next to her, her hair was hanging in front of her face so he couldn't see her face, but she continued to pay him no attention.

He was worried about her and couldn't help but wonder if her behavior was partly his fault. He knelt down beside her and reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder.

Or at he tried to his hand was half way to her when she spoke, startling him into stopping. "You're hurt, it's my fault." She said it was a statement not a question.

"No, actually I'm fine, better than fine even, if that makes sense." He told her.

"No, I hurt you, you may feel okay now, but I hurt you. I hurt everything. I destroy everything. I don't mean to, I don't want to. Look at the forest; I'm sure it was beautiful before I got near it, now I have tainted it with my disgusting self. I am a monster; all I can do is destroy. But I don't want to, I don't want to hurt anybody…" she said quietly in a pain filled voice.

Gohan stared, this couldn't possibly be the same girl he had faced the day before. But apparently it was. He did the only thing he could think of he reached out with one hand, took a gentle hold on her chin, and turned her face toward him. With his other hand he lightly pushed the long strands of hair out of her face. His actions startled her so much that she was stunned into silence.

He looked her in the eye and said quietly yet firmly, "I know how you feel."

She started shaking her head and opened her mouth to protest, but he continued, "I hurt you too, I hurt all the inhabitants and plant life of this forest, I didn't mean to, I hate destruction. But I did it we both did it. And for that I am eternally sorry, yet nothing can change that. All we can do now is seek forgiveness, and the best place to start is with each other. So, I am sorry, for sneaking up on you, fighting with you, and hurting you, and I hope with all my heart that you will be able to forgive me."

She looked at him, shocked by his words, mistrust and disbelief evident in her eyes, "Why should you ask forgiveness? I shouldn't have been so harsh to you in the first place all this is my fault."

"No, I could have walked away, either of us could have stopped this before it started, but we didn't. I need to ask for forgiveness as much as you do. So let's agree to share the burden of this pain, let's forgive and learn to heal. I know that I at least don't need anymore enemies, but I sure could use a friend."

The girl smiled hesitantly and said, "Alright then, I'll forgive you, that is if you can find it in yourself to forgive me."

Gohan smiled back, "Of course I forgive you."

They then sat there in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes until a loud roar rumbled through the clearing causing them both to fall backwards. They quickly stumbled to their feet, blushing furiously. Gohan grinned sheepishly and preformed a stunning Son grin in the style of his father and the girl smiled awkwardly as though unused to the feeling.

"So um…" Gohan said intelligibly.

"Yeah…" agreed the girl as another yet smaller roar was heard coming from the boy.

"I guess all this forgiveness stuff made me hungry, cause I'm starving!" Gohan said while clutching him poor rumbling stomach.

The girl looked about to speak when another roar interrupted her, only this one came from her. She blushed, laughed a little while holding her stomach (again awkwardly as though she wasn't used to the sensation) and said, "I guess the same goes for me, cause I'm starving too!"

"Oh hey!"

"What?"

"Since we're both starving, why don't we go hunting or scavenging for food together?" Gohan asked.

"That sounds great! What should we eat?"

"Oh, hmmm… I don't know, how about fish?'

"Nahh… not really in the mood, are you?"

"Not especially."

"Okay, how about some good old meat."

"Sounds good," Gohan said with a smile, then it faltered, "You should probably know that I'm not really that great of hunter."

"No problem!" the girl told him, "I learned from real pros, and with my help you'll be the best hunter in the universe, next to me of course!"

"No, we'll both be the best, and all the food in the universe will fear our combined might!" Gohan said in a macho voice.

They were both silent for a moment, then they looked at each other, and fell over laughing. The girl recovered first and got to her feet, she held out a hand to her friend. He took it; she pulled him to his feet. They smiled to each other, chose a direction and set off hand in hand to go and find some food to stay the wild beasts that were their stomachs.


End file.
